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The Illinois Senate passed a $700 million appropriations bill on Thursday for human services that have not received funding during the current budget impasse. Illinois State Senator Bill Brady(R-Bloomington) spoke in favor of the stopgap measure, calling it a crucial lifeline for human service providers while negotiations are underway for a 12-month budget. However, he was disappointed House Democrats rejected a common-sense amendment to provide an appropriation for the Department of Corrections, which increasingly needs funding to fully sustain their current operations.

“Today’s unanimous passage of SB 2038 will appropriate much-needed funding for providers who provide critical services in our communities, and I was encouraged by the spirit of bipartisanship shown by both sides of the aisle,” said Brady. “However, the legislation did not address the growing need for an appropriation for the Department of Corrections to safely maintain current operations.”

The measure, which is directly tied to revenue sources and does not appropriate money from the General Revenue Fund, unanimously passed through the House of Representatives earlier in the day. Brady, who represents both Lincoln and Logan Correctional Centers, once again emphasized the importance of passing a proposal to provide funds for the Department of Corrections operational budget.

“Just like with the higher education stopgap measure passed recently, I was encouraged by the bipartisanship in getting this legislation crafted and sent to the Governor’s desk. That said, we must not put our corrections officers and the public at risk-the passage of funding for DOC’s operations is becoming increasingly vital.”